Selling to a good home (Please take good care of my baby
)
Pro's: Everything you need for observing and photographing. (List below.)
Huge light gathering capability.
User friendly GO-TO GPS technology.
Internet flash upgradeable.
Still very modern and comparable to current models.
Great modifications to enhance it's capabilities.
Very good condition (unless you don't like the modifications
)
Con's: Cracked corrector plate. Reduced quality for photography.
Explanation: Visually, the crack does not appear to affect viewing. For long exposure photography, coma distortion may be visible, depending on your type of photography. Unfortunately the corrector is matched in-factory with the primary and secondary mirrors as a set which is expensive to replace. Unless one can get them all, one would have to live with the crack. (Crack visible in photo below. Top left of glass)
Package includes:
Complete Celestron Nexstar 11 GPS Telescope with finder scope.
Flash-upgradeable hand controller.
Instruction Manual.
Standard heavy duty tripod.
25mm Eyepiece.
Visual back.
Star diagonal. (not in photo, but will be included)
Extra's included:
Camera piggyback mount.
Peltier cooling modification on rear of OTA (performed by myself).
Celestron heavy-duty equatorial wedge with very sturdy, precision-machined stainless-steel windage modification.
Off axis home-built solar filter in OTA cover.
Spare hand controller with slight case damage.
Home-made lightbox for taking flats.
F6.3 Focal reducer.
Off-Axis radial guider.
3 x vibration supression pads for tripod.
Adjustable AC power adaptor.
USB to serial DB9 cable and installation software.
Serial to parallel port adaptor.
Celestron serial cable.
Phillips ToUCam Pro II 840K CCD web camera with long exposure modification, installation software, instruction manual and eyepiece adaptor.
I am very aware that the crack may be cause for pause, but as I said, for observing it is not noticeable and only slightly for long-exposure. To be brutally honest, I am selling it because I am primarily into astrophotography and it is less-than-perfect enough for me to have replaced it. I still take it on observing trips away from the observatory. It will make an excellent guide-scope and platform while photographing through piggybacked telescopes.
That aside, this is a fully functional large-aperture telescope that would suit beginner to advanced astronomers, even with the crack. This faithful companion of mine has given me a few years of pleasure and it's GPS features have basically taught me the sky better than any planetarium software ever could.
The peltier cooling modification is designed to stabilise thermal currents within the OTA for better planetary photography. Peltiers actively draw heat from the metal mirror-back while heat sinks and cooling fans blow it away. Smaller fans inside blow the inside air back onto the cold metal, thus reducing the temperature inside considerably and cooling the mirror. An inside-outside digital thermometer monitors the temp. This also greatly reduces set-up time.
Today's equivalent model new is over $8K with virtually none of these extra's. (Screenhot from un-named supplier below) If you know your gear you will know the value of the extra's.
Asking $3k for the whole lot.
You arrange pick up.
Pickup and payment arrangements by PM.
Cheers,
Baz.
